Month: February 2015

Bananas – How do they get to our stores?

Check out this video and learn where our bananas come from and how they get to our stores. It is quite a process. Temperature control is monitored throughout the process. photo credit: Bury St Edmunds 30-10-2010 via photopin (license)

De-Icing a Plane

Watch the process up close and see what is involved with de-icing a plane. It is such a critical job and one that is often taken for granted. As more ice and snow are on the way this week, see how one group of workers is dealing with the elements and taking charge to insure

How Long Does It Take to Get Frostbite?

I am certainly not encouraging people to try this experiment at home, work or school; but, do you really know the facts about frostbite. How long does it really take? It really depends on two things: temperature and wind The wind is really the deciding factor here because it can quickly remove the heat and

Think about Food Science as a Major

Want to get into a growing industry? Consider food science. It is one area that high school kids are not exposed to as much, but it is definitely a growing field with lots of possibilities. Just in the last 5-10 years this area has exploded with the advent of regulations around calories and the whole

Crash Course on Fracking

Fracking is a very controversial process which people have various opinions on. Let’s look at this topic a bit closer and see if we can formulate our own opionion. Let’s start with this first video which explains the process. Now let’s review a little more about the process and look at some of the environmental

Fresh or Frozen Vegetables

Which one is more nutritous? You may think the answer seems obvious, but it really depends. Check out this video and learn more about what makes vegetables nutritious. It gives some great examples of why you might want to consider buying vegetables fresh and frozen depending upon your circumstance. photo credit: produce via photopin (license)

Nutrients in Plants

This time of year, the focus for many growers is the nutrients in the soil. However, I am seeing an increase in questions related to how those nutrients make it up to the plant. For that matter, many people are looking at nutrients first and determining what is needed and then evaluating this information with

Should you put air in your tires on a very cold day?

The answer is “No”. The cold air makes your tires contract and as a result, your tire sensors come on. However, to demonstrate this principle the following video looks at air in a balloon and how it contracts with a cold source, liquid nitrogen. Ambient temperature affects tire pressure, and in the new world of TPMS,

GMOs and Food Safety

Check out this interview with Ruth MacDonald, Professor at Iowa State. Earlier this year in January, Ms. MacDonald recently spoke to a group of growers at an agriculture expo at Fremont Nebraska. People need to understand the role of GMO technology in our food industry. We are currently going through a period of change with